“So, I’m thinking ‘Slipstream’.”
“Slipstream?”
“Yeah. It makes you think of speed, it’s air related, it sounds cool, and it’s fun to say. Besides, you already chose ‘Sleipnir’ for your Earth Pony form, and if you’ve really got Rainbow Dash’s DNA as the basis for it, you’ve got a lot to live up to.”
“I like it. Also, Applejack asked me to change the Earth Pony name to something Apple related.” Jason said, poking the fire with a stick. “Gotta have an Apple name if you're in the Apple family.”
“Yer dern right!” the farm mare shouted proudly. “And ya better come up with it quick, or else we’re gonna let Apple Bloom name ya! She’s spent the better half of a week thinkin’ up names, too!”
“Oh by Mjolnir, please no.”
“Ugh, why are we bringing this annoyance with us again?” Slash complained, currently in his natural form as they traversed the Everfree Forest.
“‘Cause she’s worried for her ‘brother’. It’d be endearing if it wasn’t so annoying,” Gilgamesh explained.
“I’m touched, AJ, but I can take care of myself,” Jason said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“Apples stick together Jay, no matter what.”
“Oh there you are my love!” a slightly distorted voice called out, making Jason groan.
“Not her too...” he whined, hanging his head. “Just kill me now.”
“If she tries anything, I’ll take care of her,” Slash said, his stinger twitching a bit.
“Oh don’t mind me, I just wanted to spend some time with my lover. I even left my guards at the hive,” Chrysalis said, taking a seat next to Jason and giving him a bright smile.
“Ain’t no rotten no-good worm gonna have anything to do with mah family! Uh, no offense meant, Slash.”
“Some taken.”
“Oh be quiet, you downtrodden peasant!” the queen hissed back.
“Congratulations, kid. You now officially have a big sister who’s judging who’s girlfriend material for you,” Gilgamesh joked.
“Look, lets just try to have a nice night. AJ, if she acts up I’ll turn into Way Big and chuck her into the sun,” he turned to Chrysalis, “and don’t insult my family.”
Chrysalis groaned but relented. “Fine. I suppose I’ll need to find a way to at least be on tolerable terms with my future in-laws.”
“Well this certainly got horrible,” Slash said, adjusting his wings. “Anypony want something to drink?”
“Sure, why not,” Jason said nodding his head. “Oh sick.” he said looking away as Slash coughed up a bottle of hard Apple cider.
“One of the advantages of being a changeling. We don’t have stomachs, so we can store things in our body cavity.”
“Sure, I’ll take a swig,” Gilgamesh said, wiping down the bottle before uncorking the top. He took a small gulp, just enough to get a taste. “Ah, not bad. Still, I do miss my Bacardi. Here you go, Chryssi,” he said as he handed her the bottle. “You’ll need an appreciation for their craft if you want to even think of getting in their good graces.”
She looked at the bottle, lifting it, taking a swig. “Hmm. I must admit for a mere worker, you make a fine product.”
“Ah... thank you?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow at the strange compliment.
“Guess it’s my turn,” Jason said, taking the bottle. He downed a gulp, making a face. “By Odin’s beard the salt!”
“What a big stallion like you can’t handle a bit of salt?” Applejack asked with a chuckle, taking the bottle, downing a long swig.
“AJ, humans don’t need salt like ponies. I’m pretty sure I just had a week’s worth of salt.”
“Yeah, sure. Ah’ll bet that’s just yer excuse for not bein’ able to hold yer liquor. Gilgamesh did fine.”
“To be fair, you’re talking to guy who drank twelve barrels of mead in one night and only woke up with a slight headache the next morning,” the warrior explained.
“How the hell are you still human?” Jason asked, giving him an odd look.
“Not sure if I am. Anyway, c’mon. Let’s get ready,” he said while walking out into the same clearing the two Displaced had fought in before, motioning for Jason to follow.
“If he can’t walk back when he’s done, ah’m gonna make sure you can’t either!” Applejack shouted from the edge.
“Oh, he’ll be fine. A young strong changeling king like him will have no trouble with this brute. I’d expect no less from my love!” the Queen assured her with pride.
Jason just glared at the two before getting up, following Gilgamesh to the clearing. “So what do you have planned for tonight?”
“A few things. First of all, I want to see if we can improve your ability to sense killing intent. Close your eyes.”
Jason took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He listened to the slow rustling of the leaves, waiting for Gilgamesh to start.
“Now, I want you to tell me when you can feel something. And don’t worry I won’t try to hit you... yet.”
“Thats... reassuring,” Jason mumbled, doing his best to keep his mind open. “Ok, I felt that,” he said, shifting uneasily at the feeling of dread. He opened an eye, looking around, stumbling back when he saw the warrior was right in front him.
“Hm, still not good at telling exactly what direction or how far the source is. Troubling. Then again, this is something I’ve honed over a century, so I doubt you’ll pick it up so quickly.”
“Don’t do that...” Jason said with a frown, his eyes wide from shock.
“Oh suck it up, kid. This is how training works, you get the crap kicked out of you in a controlled environment, where you can be supervised so that when you face someone who actually wants to kill you you’ll be better prepared.”
“Ok ok, I get it,” he said closing his eyes again, reopening his senses. This time, he stepped to the left, ignoring the growing pit of dread in his stomach. He opened an eye, seeing that Gilgamesh had moved to where he had been, from the left. “Well, I got it that time. Shall we go again?” he asked, cracking a smile.
“Cocky. But ok, you’ve made some improvement. But, let’s see if you can track me now. You have two seconds.”
In a flash of speed the warrior disappeared. Jason turned his head to look around but didn’t see anything. Just when he was about to close his eyes he felt a massive amount of dread coming from right behind him. He instinctively rolled forward and turned around.
“A bit slow, but not bad... for an absolute beginner.”
“Yes I get it, I suck,” Jason said as he got up and wiped his clothes off.
“Hey, tough love. Now, one last thing before we move on. Advanced fighters will often use feints, moves that look like attacks, to make the opponent flinch and be unguarded for the actual hit. If you can sense the lack of, or in some cases weakened, killing intent in the feint, you can respond appropriately.”
“Ok, so how are we gonna do that?”
Gilgamesh raised his right arm. “I’m going to do a right jab at your face, but I’m going to stop just before it hits. Don’t flinch.”
“Ok, won’t flinch, survival instincts be damned,” Jason spoke, digging his shoes into the dirt.
The two simply stood for a moment before Gilgamesh jabbed at lightning speed. Despite himself, Jason flinched slightly, but managed to keep both eyes open.
“Thought as much. Still, not bad for your first time. It’s not easy to untrain your normal reflexes,” the warrior said, lowering his arm.
“You can do it my love! I believe in you!” Chrysalis shouted, causing Jason to blush slightly.
“Yeah Jason, ya’ll show that varmint how we Apples do things!”
“Nice fan club you got,” the armored biped chuckled.
“Shut. Up,” Jason snorted, crossing his arms.
“Aw, you know I tease because I care,” the man said while patting the boy’s head. “Oh, there’s an idea!”
“Huh?”
“Hey, AJ!” he called to the orange mare. “What do you like more? ‘Appleseed’ or ‘Apple Orchard?’”
“W-Wait a minute, why are you asking her!? It’s going to be my name! How did you come up with those anyway?”
“Well, your name’s ‘Jason’. It starts with a ‘J’. Another name that starts with ‘J’ is ‘Johnny’, just like-”
“Johnny Appleseed,” Jason finished with a sigh. “And the other?”
“My favorite cider back on Earth was ‘Angry Orchard.’”
“You want to name me after a drink?”
“Why not? Half the names in her family are foods anyway.”
“I hate you all, you know that?” he asked with a sigh, sitting back down at the fire. “I guess I’ll go with Apple Seed.”
“Alright then. I guess we can stop here for the night. We’ll get up bright and early next morning for the next lesson. But first, a little surprise.” Gilgamesh cut open a hole in the air and pulled out a large sack stained with some kind of liquid. An aroma emanated from it, one that made Jason drool and Applejack scrunch her snout in disgust.
“Ugh, what in tarnation is that?”
“Jerky. More specifically, cragodile jerky. The results of the ‘errand’ I ran yesterday.”
“Ya’ll killed a cragodile?!” AJ nearly screeched, her face turning rather green.
“That is a rather impressive feat for a lone creature. I can respect that,” Chrysalis stated, to which Slash nodded in agreement.
“Gimme!” Jason shouted, swiping the jerky out of Gilgamesh’s hands, devouring it.
“Hey, leave some for me! That’s a whole adult cragodile there!”
“Um... ah’m gonna head back to the farm. Good night everypony.” AJ said, tipping her hat before fleeing as fast as her legs would take her.
“Sadly, I must be going as well. The drones can only go for so long before they burn the hive down.” Chrysalis said, getting up. She trotted over to Jason, giving him a full on kiss on the lips before flying off.
“Wha... ?” Jason asked, sitting there in a stupor, a piece of jerky falling out of his mouth.
“Hey, don’t write her off just ‘cause she’s not human. Believe me, you’re pretty much the only one of your kind here and, let’s face it, beastility has more to do with mindless beasts than non-human sentient beings. There are plenty of guys and gals back on Earth that’d probably kill to be in your position.”
“Oh by the Allfather, will you just cut it out!?”
“Hey, I’m not picking on you. I’ve got my own non-human crush. Did you think I was flirting with Luna just because I thought it was fun?”
“My first kiss and it was to a bug horse,” Jason groaned, taking another bite of the jerky.
“Ahem!” Slash said angrily. “Please do not degrade our species by referring to us as mere bugs.”
“Ok, I’m sorry,” Jason said, passing the jerky back to Gilgamesh. “I’m getting some sleep.” he said, laying down, his back to them.
For a few rare moments, everything was quiet.
“... Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy heads-”
“Oh, just stop.”
***
Jason awoke the next morning to see Gilgamesh had already gotten up and was currently going through some sort of routine with his weapon, spinning and thrusting it in several ways. Slash was up as well, though it looked like he was still shaking the sleepiness from his head.
“Ah, so you’re up,” the changeling king stated with a yawn.
“Yup... actually got a good amount of sleep,” Jason noded, getting up. He stretched, cracking his back with a loud pop.
“I’m rather glad I don’t have bones,” Slash said, flexing his jaw. “ Hmm... I’m going to need to feed soon.”
“I’ve been wondering about that. I was told changelings feed off love, and that Chrysalis stole it from her brother by impersonating... what was her name?”
“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, better known as Cadance.”
“Right, her. And seeing as how Celestia and Luna let you hide right under their noses-”
“I feed on love. While love can be stolen it can also be given freely. My unit knows of my true self and allow me to feed off the positive feelings them have for me.”
“So, you mean you can live off just other people liking you?”
“Yes. Love given freely tastes the best as well,” Slash said looking at them. “Do you mind if I feed on you?”
Jason blinked, looking at looking at Gilgamesh. “I uh... don’t mind,”
Slash smiled, his horn starting to glow a bit.
“Man thats tingly,” Jason said, flexing his fingers, which felt like they had fallen asleep. Slash finished up, his horn losing its glow.
“Thank you, that should tide me over for a few days,” the changeling said, looking rather satisfied.
“Uh, you’re welco-”
“GIT AWAY FROM HIM!”
“Huh?” Jason turned and saw his ‘sister’ barreling down towards the changeling king. “No, AJ, wait!”
The orange mare jumped at Slash only for her to caught mid-air by her tail. She looked behind her to see Gilgamesh holding her.
“AH KNEW YA WERE NO GOOD, YA-!”
“Zecora,” the warrior said simply.
“Huh?”
“Zecora the shamaness, a friend who would’ve never made without being willing to listen to her side of the story.”
AJ’s eyes widened before she looked away in shame, realizing what he was trying to tell her. “But, he-”
“If you say ‘he’s a changeling’, then maybe you aren’t worthy of being a member of the Elements of Harmony. Even if you’ve had bad experiences with changelings in the past, it’s still not looking very good for you to jump to conclusions to one who’s been nothing but civil and helpful his whole stay here.”
Applejack just grimaced before nodding. The warrior set her down and she began to draw circles in the ground with her hoof. “Sorry. Ah just... ah was just worried about mah family.”
Slash simply smiled. “It’s fine. I would’ve done the same if any of my soldiers were in danger.”
“Oh Jason, my love!”
The boy groaned. “Just bear it,” he muttered.
“Oh, and you’re back as well,” the Queen said, giving a sneer at the farm mare. “How... delightful to see you,” she said with a forced smile.
“Like ah’m gonna let ya near Jason without somepony keepin’ an eye on ya!” the farmer snapped back.
The queen growled, dropping any pretense of politeness.
“Settle down you two,” Gilgamesh interrupted. “The only ones who are gonna fight here are me and Jason. AJ, if you cause too much trouble I swear I’ll hogtie you and and drag you all the way back to your home.”
“What!?”
“Ha!” Chrysalis laughed.
“And if you cause a ruckus I’ll personally deliver you to Celestia.”
“Heh. Even you couldn’t hold onto me long enough to-” she began to retort.
“By throwing you to Canterlot.”
The queen simply stared before turning her head to see the city on the mountain in the distance. She turned back to the warrior and saw the deadly serious look in his eyes. Without a word she sat down.
“Just be chill ok?” Jason asked, looking at the two females. “I don’t want to break up a cat fight,”
“Ah what?” Applejack asked.
“It’s an expression,” he explained with a frustrated tone.
“Enough bickering kiddies, it’s time to get to work,” Gilgamesh called, already at the center of the clearing.
“So what do I get my ass kicked in this time,” Jason asked, cracking his neck and knuckles.
“I’m gonna see if you can figure that one out yourself. Stretch those brain muscles. The only thing I’m going to tell you is that I’m going to attack you just with my strength. No magic, no weapons, no technique, I’m going full on brute style,” he replied, cracking his own neck and knuckles before taking a fighting stance. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“OK, I can do this.” Jason said, taking a deep breath. “Omnitrix, Four Arms.” With a bright flash of light, the human was replaced by a tall red skinned creature. It flexed its four muscled arms, meeting Gilgamesh’s gaze and beckoning with one hand. “Come at me bro.”
“Gladly,” he replied before blaring another song.
The warrior simply started walking forward and swinging his arm in a circle, stretching the muscle, before lunging forward and unleashing a left jab, followed by right gut punch, a left body shot, and finally a right uppercut. Jason managed to parry the first three attacks before leaning away from the fourth. He swung hard at the warrior, who ducked under the blow before punching him the stomach and then striking him in the face with his elbow. Jason stumbled back a bit, rubbing his nose with one hand, the other three ready to block any incoming attack.
“C’mon kid, keep the flow going.”
“I’ll give you flow,” he said, moving back and grabbing a tree. With a grunt, he ripped it out of the ground, heaving it at Gilgamesh like a baseball bat. The warrior jumped over it and at his opponent, both legs extended for a double drop kick at his chest. Jason shielded himself with the tree, which was crushed to splinters as he was pushed back into another one, smashing it.
“Get up, my love! I know you can beat him!” Chrysalis called.
“Get up Jay! Show that varmint how we Apples do it!”
“Hey, I’m cheering for him, you be quiet!”
“Ah’m cheering for him, yer just tryin’ to seduce him!”
Jason grumbled as he got back up, glaring at Gilgamesh. “How about we switch it up? Omnitrix, Swampfire.” Another green flash and Four Arms was replaced by a green plant like creature, it’s head a fiery red. He created fireballs in his hands, throwing them at Gilgamesh, who simply covered his body with his arms, bracing against the fiery attack. When the flames cleared, the armored warrior moved his arms just in time to see Jason punch him in the face. The plant creature unleashed a few more hits before finishing with an uppercut, causing him to stumble backwards.
Before he fell over Gilgamesh grabbed Jason’s still outstretched arm and pulled him in for a headbutt. While the transforming human staggered, Gilgamesh grabbed him the waist before lifting him above his head and slamming him headfirst into the ground, leaving only the waist down to show outside the dirt.
“Nice diversion. Simple yet effective.”
Several vines erupted from the ground, quickly binding Gilgamesh. Jason pulled himself out of the hole, cracking his neck. “Glad you think so.” he said, starting to lay into the captive warrior with a flurry of punches.
“Yeah! That’s how ya do it!” Applejack shouted.
“Victory is near, beloved!”
Gilgamesh managed to flex his muscles enough to be able to reach forward and grip Jason in a bear hug before leaning backwards and suplexing him into the ground. He then quickly pulled and tore the vines off him as Jason got up. Jason sent out another fireball but was surprised when Gilgamesh managed to not only duck under it but move behind him. The warrior struck him in the back with his elbow, causing him to stumble forward for a second before turning around, only to be met with a quick jab to the face. He was struck again in the stomach with another punch before being sent tumbling by a spinning back-hand.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Gilgamesh said, stopping the music as well.
“No! He was so close!” Chrysalis whined.
“Ah reckon he was,” AJ agreed, nodding.
“So, what’d you learn?” Gilgamesh asked.
“Not to be overconfident,” Jason said, cracking his back. He tapped the Omnitrix, returning to normal.
“Well, yes, ok, but what else?”
“Never assume you’ve got your opponent beaten.”
“Ok, yes, again, good, but what else?”
“Don’t let cheerleaders distract you,” he said, sending a glare at the females.
Slash laughed as both the girls pouted.
Gilgamesh chuckled before getting back to the topic. “Is that you you’ve got?”
“Yeah.”
The warrior sighed. “Looks like you still didn’t get it. Ok then, we’ll try this once more, still no weapons or magic, but I’m not just going to do brute strength. Get ready.”
Jason nodded, getting ready. “Omnitrix, Toepick,” he said, vanishing in a burst of light, to be replaced by a fat, green skinned creature whose head was covered by a cage.
“What in the hay can that thing do?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. Jason said nothing, just standing there, waiting for Gilgamesh to make a move.
“Somepony do something!” Chrysalis shouted, getting bored.
“Ok, seriously, just what they hell is that thing’s power?” Gilgamesh asked, not willing to move until he had a better idea of what he was up against.
Jason started to move forward, still as silent as ever. The gate in front of his face opened up with an eerie creaking revealing his face. Said face was so utterly horrifying, that , despite himself, Gilgamesh found himself filled with utter terror at the sight.
“OH DEAR GOD, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT THING!?” he shouted. A moment later her put a hand to his face and dashed out of sight into the forest. The sound of violent retching could be heard by all. A few minutes later he returned, the little bit of skin showing under his armor looking a bit paler. Thankfully for him, Jason had transformed back to a human, a smug look plastered on his face.
“That was revenge for getting beaten up so much, wasn’t it?”
“You could say that. I’ve been dying use Toepick since day one,” he said, brushing his hair out of his face. “But, lets get serious again.”
“Says the guy who just picked the ‘fear master’ alien. Ok then, make your choice already or we’re going to be testing your human form’s durability,” he commanded, a slight bit of frustration in his tone.
“Ok, ok, sorry,” he said, putting his hands up. “Omnitrix, Lodestar.” Once again, he was engulfed in a green glow, this time replaced by a metallic black creature, it’s head floating between it’s shoulders. “Oh yes, this will do nicely. Hey, your armor is metal right?”
“To be honest, I’m not completely sure, but... oh crap.”
Jason held his arms out, a magnetic pulse firing from his pincers. He lifted Gilgamesh into the air, repeatedly slamming into the ground. “This is really fun.”
The three spectators could only laugh at the ridiculous sight and the muscular warrior’s grunts rang out through the forest.
“ENOUGH!” he shouted before firing a laser from his eyes and knocking Jason over, falling to the ground as the magnetism cut out. “Ugh. Ok, you’ve had your fun. Now turn into Diamondhead so we can finally try to finish this lesson.”
“Of course Master. Omnitrix, Diamondhead.” With a final flash, Jason took the form of a diamond skinned creature, his eyes a bright yellow. He looked at Gilgamesh, his arms turning into blades.
“Oh boy. Better keep that form away from Spike and Rarity,” Applejack commented.
“Alright then, let’s see if you can pick it up this time,” Gilgamesh said as another song began to play. Gilgamesh briefly began to sway from side to side before hopping in place. A moment later he dashed forwards.
Jason unleashed a barrage of diamond shards at him before rolling to the side, slashing at Gilgamesh’s side. He managed to cut into his armor, turning his arm away before he caused any real harm.
Gilgamesh then sent a kick to Jason’s stomach before flipping and landing another one on his face. Jason swung one of his bladed arms only for the warrior to drop to the ground and hit him in the chest with a mule kick, sending him tumbling backwards. As Jason arose he looked up just in time to see the warrior about to stomp on him and roll out of the way. He retaliated by firing more blasts of diamonds only for the warrior to weave through them all. He then tried to strike with crystal spikes, but Gilgamesh continued to dodge with flips, handstands, and other acrobatic moves. In his frustration Jason charged forwards, only to be sent into the air by three kicks in quick succession to his chest.
“Ugh. It’s like I can keep time to him hitting me,” Jason muttered. “...Wait a minute.”
He observed his opponent as he rose, bouncing from one foot to the other.
“Is he...?”
Jason stood up and dispelled his bladed arms, returning them to hands. He began to tap his foot to the beat of the song as his opponent rushed him. Gilgamesh attacked with a series of acrobatic kicks and sweeps but Jason managed to dodge or block each and every one. He soon saw his chance and punched the warrior in the face, sending him to the ground flat on his back.
“Ugh. Looks like you got it now,” Gilgamesh replied, cutting off the music and getting up.
“You were attacking and even dodging to the beat of the song,” Jason replied. “But why? I mean, what’s the point?”
“All fighters have a rhythm kid, a beat they like to fight to. Think of it kind of like a long distance runner trying to keep a pace so they don’t go too slow but also so they don’t tire themselves out. Every fighter, even if they don’t realise it, will try to get the pace of the battle to go at the speed they want it to. If you can throw off your enemy's groove, or at least make them follow yours, you could even beat a stronger opponent.”
“Thats... really simple...” Jason said, returning to human form. His Omnitrix glowed red, out of power. He was about to continue talking but was bowled over when two somethings knocked him to the ground, only to pick him up and crush him in their grasps.
“Land sakes, that was some fancy movin’ ya did there, Jason!”
“You were amazing, beloved!”
The two females stopped their praise and faced each other, both growling.
“GIRLS!” Jason shouted. The two of them let go of him and turned away from each other, huffing indignantly.
“Ok then, I’ve only got one more lesson to teach you,” Gilgamesh said. “We’ll meet tomorrow night, so take the rest of the day off. Every warrior needs his rest.” And with that he cut himself an exit before disappearing.
“Well, it’s back to Ponyville then,” Slash said, transforming into Air Razor again. “Looks like you’ll need to go back to your hive, queenie,” he finished with a smirk.
“Hmph! Fine then,” she said while about to take off.
“Wait!”
Everyone turned, surprised to see that it was Applejack that had called out to her. For a moment, no one made a sound until the farm mare sighed.
“Ah ain’t sayin’ ah like ya or nothin’, but... if Jason decides he’s ok with it ah... guess ah can put up with ya bein’ around the farm,” she began, obviously trying to pick her words carefully. “But ah’ll tell ya right now, if ya want anythin’ to do with the Apple family yer gonna have to earn yer keep around the farm, so you better be willin’ ta get your hooves dirty!” she finished with a shout.
“AJ?” Jason asked, unable to believe what he heard.
“Oh, can I, beloved?”
Jason was about to immediately answer ‘no’ until he saw the uncharacteristically hopeful and, dare he say it, gentle look in her eyes as she smiled. He sighed.
“Let me think about it, ok?”
The queen pouted a bit. “Oh, alright then. Until later, my love,” she said before giving him a quick peck on the cheek and flying off.
“HEY! AH DIDN’T SAY NOTHIN’ BOUT LETTIN’ YOU GET ALL TOUCHY FEELY WITH HIM! YOU GIT BACK HERE, YA LITTLE SNAKE!” Applejack shouted.
“Just let her go AJ, I still haven’t made up my mind yet.” Jason said, scratching behind one of the farm pony’s ears. He chuckled at her reaction, shaking his head. “Let’s get going,” he said, pulling away... much to her disappointment.
“Well, this was certainly interesting,” Air Razor muttered.
***
“Ah. Finally, a good night’s sleep,” Jason muttered as he awoke in his tiny bed, managing to wake up even before the rooster’s caw. After all of Gilgamesh’s training he practically passed out around eight the night before. “Looks like I’m finally getting over my sleep problems.”
He moved downstairs, humming a soft tune to himself. “Good morning everyone,” he greeted his adoptive family, taking his seat at the table.
“Mornin’ Jay,” Applejack said, putting his plate in front of him. Jason licked his lips, looking down at the plate of pancakes before starting to dig in.
“Ya sure can eat a lot, Jay,” Apple Bloom noted, rather impressed with his eating skills.
“What can I say? I’m an eating machine.” The young man grinned, finishing up the last bit of food on his plate. “Well, I’m gonna head into town, Twilight wanted me to stop by so I could meet her sister-in-law.”
“Tell Cadance I said hi,” AJ said with a nod, watching him walk out.
The walk into town was rather quiet and relaxing. Many of the ponies he walked by waved at him, and he returned their greetings. He soon found himself at the exhibit that had been put up in town. It was all about a unicorn wizard, Starswirl if Jason remembered correctly.
“Over here, Jason!” Twilight’s voice called out. Jason turned to see her decked out in a traditional wizard outfit, beard and all. Standing next to her was a pink alicorn, who thankfully was not in a stupid outfit.
“Hey Twilight. I take it this is her?” Jason asked, looking between the two.
“Yup! Jason, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, ruler of the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said, beaming.
“Please just call me Cadance,” the pink alicorn said, giving Jason a smile. That smile soon turned into a confused look as Jason just stared at her.
“Um... Jason?” Twilight asked looking worried.
“Your name... is ‘My love’?” he asked, staring down at Cadance.
“What?”
“I may not know a lot of Spanish, but I know enough to know that mi amore means my love...” Jason replied, running a hand down his face. “You ponies and your damn names... “
“Moving on...” Twilight said, clearing her throat. “We were about to check out the Starswirl exhibit, would you like to join us?”
Jason shook his head. “Twilight, you spent all of yesterday going on about how you were going to spend all day with Cadance, I appreciate the offer but I got a day off and I’m not going to spend it interrupting your plans,” Jason said, spinning on his heel and walking off before she could respond.
***
The next hour saw Jason wondering around the marketplace, checking out various stalls and shops. He was about to leave when he saw a very... blue looking Applejack, slowly making her way to the farm.
“Hey uh... AJ,” he started, looking her over with a frown. “Why are you blue?”
“That snake Discord got me n’ Rarity sick!” the irate farmer shouted, before breaking into a sneezing fit.
“Ouch, thats kind of a dick thing to do,” he said, nodding his head. “So where are you going? Back to the farm?”
“I reckon so,” she grumbled. “Ah think we still have some o’ that cure-all potion Zecora whipped up.”
“Want me to walk with ya?” Jason offered, moving closer.
“Oh no, ya’ll stay right there. Ah ain’t gonna get anypony else sick, so ya’ll just scat!” Applejack said, giving him a stern look.
“Alright have it your way AJ. Get well soon,” he said, putting his hands up and backing away. With a frown he watched the sick mare slowly make her way out of town. He sighed, gazing up at the sky, and noticed Rainbow Dash zip into her house. Rainbow Dash... oh crap!
“Gah! I can’t believe I forgot! Omnitrix, Slipstream!” he commanded, shifting into his pegasus form. His coat was a forest green while his mane and tail were a bright neon green. He spread his wings, taking off into the sky. After a few minutes of haphazard flying, he managed to make it up to the cloud house. He gave a light knock, waiting for the speedy mare to answer.
“Jay is that you?” Rainbow asked as she opened the door, looking at him with a bit of shock.
“Yup it’s me, though you can call me Slipstream if you want.” he grinned, fluttering his wings a bit.
“Thats so cool, I wonder if you're half as fast as me?” she asked, a smug look growing on her face.
“Well that can wait,” he said, waving a hoof dismissively. “Can I come in? I have about fifteen minutes before I turn back and I have something to tell you.”
“Um... sure, come on in,” Rainbow said, frowning a bit. She moved to the side, allowing Jason to enter. After closing the door, she followed after him. “So whatcha got to tell me? One of the girls get into trouble?” she asked, jumping up onto a cloud couch.
“Now like that.” Jason paused, climbing into a cloud chair. “While you girls were gone a griffon came looking for you?”
“What...?”
“Yeah, she said to tell you she was sorry,” he said, poking at the chair. “I don’t remember her name though...”
“G came to apologize...” Rainbow muttered, staring off at a wall. She shook her head, leaping up into the air, taking off in a blur.
“Rainbow wait!”
“Lock up when you leave!” she called back, fading into the horizon.
***
Jason sighed as he made his way to the library, his hands stuffed into his pockets. The day had been a bust, making him wish that he had joined Twilight and Cadance at the exhibit. “Hey Spike, you feel like playing cards?” he called out, walking inside. He paused, seeing Discord in a bed, under a pink dome, with Rarity and AJ glaring at him.
“Did I miss something?”
“Yeah, Discord got sick,” Applejack explained.
“You already told me that.”
“He was fakin’ the first time. He’s actually sick now.”
“But... you were blue.”
“It wore off by the time Ah got home,” AJ said, glaring at Discord one last time before walking out of the library.
“Wait, if he was faking before, how did he get actually sick this time?”
“Some kind of worm sneezed on him. If you ask me, he got what was coming to him,” Rarity said, adjusting her mane.
“OH!” Jason said, snapping his fingers. “That reminds me, Discord,” Jason said, grabbing the folder off a bookshelf. “Been meaning to give this to you.”
“Ugh, what is it?” He asked groggily. He sniffled before snapping his claw and in a flash the folder was now in his possession.
“It’s a bunch of multiversal magic science stuff. You should be able to reinforce the barrier of our universe and/or send people like me home.” Jason explained.
“‘Like you?’ We’re not going to have to worry about more Arishoks showing up, are we?”
“I dunno, but best not to chance it.”
“Ok, I’ll get right to work on that. After a little nap,” he said with yawn.
“Oh, and Twi, have you seen Gilgamesh? I haven’t seen him all day.”
“No I haven’t. Sorry,” she said shaking her head.
“Huh. I wonder where he is? I know we weren’t supposed to meet for training until tonight, but I at least thought he’d be around town having fun.”
“Well, I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for him.”
“Alright. Well, I’ll see you later.”
***
The sun was beginning to vanish over the horizon and the day was winding down and ponies were beginning to head back home, except for the few who were night owls looking for a good time.
Jason sat on a bench in the main plaza by the fountain, feeling inexplicably anxious. He had asked everyone he could, but no one had seen Gilgamesh anywhere all day.
“Just what the hell is he up to?” he mumbled.
“Hey Jason!”
The human turned just in time to see a pink blur tackle him to the ground.
“GAH! PINKIE!”
“Give him a rest, will ya Pinkie? He’s tryin’ to relax,” Applejack complained as she trotted over, the rest of the six friends following behind.
“But he just looked so grumpy, so I wanted to give him a super-duper cheering up hug!”
“Back on my world I think we call that a ‘glomp,’” Jason replied as he got up, the pink mare still hanging around his shoulders. “So what’s up?”
“Well, um, we were going to go have a little something to eat at Sugarcube Corner before the it closed for the night. We wanted to know if you’d like to come. Um, if you don’t mind, that is,” Fluttershy asked.
“I’d love to girls but I’m still waiting on Gilgamesh. I’m supposed to meet him tonight but... he still hasn’t shown up.”
“Jason, I’m sure Gilgamesh is just fine,” Rarity assured, giving him a smile.
“Yeah, your probably right. You girls go on ahead, I’ll be right in.”
“Don’t take too long.” AJ said nodding her head, walking with the other girls into the store.
Just then he heard the familiar sound of a hole opening in reality. They all turned to see the armored warrior exiting his portal.
“Hey Gilgy, where’ve you been?” Jason asked as he approached. Gilgamesh turned to face him and he froze. An intense feeling of dread seemed to wash over him while the warrior pulled his weapon off his back. He turned to the girls, who also seemed to feeling the same thing he was.
“RUN!”
Gilgamesh swung his spear and unleashed a massive gust of wind that sent them all tumbling, smashing into Sugarcube Corner. Jason opened his eyes to see his teacher standing over him, his weapon pointed down and ready to deliver the deathblow.
“Omnitrix, The Worst!” he commanded, turning into a very short, pudgy orange creature in a pair of green underwear. He didn’t flinch as the weapon came down on him. “OW!” he complained, glaring up at him. “That freaking hurt!”
The warrior didn’t say a word and merely grabbed him before hurling him at the fountain in the main plaza, which broke under the force of the impact.
“Hey! Just what the hay do you think you’re doing!?”
Rainbow Dash flew up and bucked Gilgamesh in the head, causing him to flinch for a moment. He quickly turned around and grabbed her. As she struggled and gasped for breath he threw her at Sugarcube Corner, smashing through the window and destroying several pieces of furniture inside.
“Girls, hide! Now!” Jason shouted. “Omnitrix, NRG!” he commanded, taking the form of the imposing armored creature. The mares hesitated before dashing inside the pastry shop. He fired a beam of radiation at Gilgamesh, trying to distract him. The warrior cut open a hole in reality and disappeared into it, dodging the blast. For a moment there was silence before a familiar sound came from behind him. Before he could turn he fell over, something pulling one of his legs out from under him before being thrown skywards. He looked down and saw the warrior’s eyes shine red.
The top of the armor flew open and NRG’s true form was revealed. Floating in the form was a humanoid made out of red energy, a lower level containment suit covering his body. He flew at Gilgamesh, firing a more powerful energy beam. The warrior rolled to the side, avoiding the blast, before cutting open another hole in the air and disappearing through it.
“Ok, just keep a level head,” Jason chanted to himself, moving about the area, a frown on his face. “Come out already!”
No sooner had he shouted that that a fist phased right through his face, catching him by surprise. He recovered and turned to fire, only for nothing to be there. “You know, you can’t actually touch me. If anything you just exposed yourself to radiation!” he called out before something slammed into his back pinning him to the ground. He struggle to get out, realizing that Gilgamesh had thrown his own suit at him. As Jason struggled to get up he found himself being pinned to the ground by an invisible force. As he struggled to move his head and saw the warrior in front of him, arm raised, he realised it was the gravity powers from before.
“Jay, I’m comin’!”
Both combatants turned to see Applejack begin to exit the pastry shop.
“AJ, no!”
Gilgamesh raised his other hand at the farm mare. Suddenly a missile materialized right in front of it, causing her to freeze. It fired at the building and before Jason could even call out the building exploded, showering wood and furniture everywhere.
To Jason time seemed to stop as he tried to process what happened. As it slowly dawned on him he became overcome with grief and hysteria. Not even a second later, every atom of his being surged with rage. He turned to face the man he once called his master.
“Omnitrix, Gravattak!” he shouted, becoming a large rocky creature with a glowing core. He cancelled out the gravity powers before getting up.”I’m going to kill you!” he lifted up several large objects, spinning them around himself to gain speed before sending them at Gilgamesh. The warrior responded by almost casually cutting them all in half with clean strokes of his weapon before firing a beam from his eyes. Jason pulled in his arms and legs, taking a spherical form, causing the beam to orbit around him before sending it back at its source. Gilgamesh dodged to the side before shooting a stream of bubbles at the alien. Like before the projectiles orbited the creature only for them all to detonate with the strength of handmade bombs. Jason forced those that had yet to detonate away from him before landing.
“Omnitrix, Atomix!” he demanded, his rocky body being replaced by a tall white robotic creature, with green glowing cylinders in his arms. “HHHAA MEEE NAAA!” he chanted, throwing green blasts at his enemy. Gilgamesh managed to block and weather the first few strikes before dodging the others. He then breathed the bubbles again, which floated out slowly, only for him to swing his weapon in a circular motion, unleashing a funnel of wind that not only pushed Jason back but carried the lethal bubbles towards him. In response the alien raised his hand and produced a green energy barrier, causing the bubbles to detonate before they could reach their mark. A lightning bolt struck him from above, causing him to momentarily falter, but the wind had already died down and the bubbles were gone. And so was the warrior.
“That all you got, teacher!? Why don’t you just come out and we can deal with this honorably!”
“No,” came an icy voice from behind him before being struck in the side by the blade of the spear, eliciting a spark as the force sent Jason hurling away.
“Omnitrix, Rath!” another flash of green and the robot was replaced by a large bipedal tiger. “Let me tell ya something guy who Rath thought was his friend until he killed my other friends! Rath is really pissed off that you killed his pony friends! Rath’s gonna put cut you open like a tin can before Rath puts you in the ground!” he shouted. Rath threw his head back, lunging at Gilgamesh. He pinned him to the ground, proceeding to beat his face in. “Rath will have his vengeance! Skrunk!!!” he shouted, bringing his fists down on Gilgamesh’s head. He grabbed the warrior by the neck and flung him into town hall.
“We just got that fixed!” Mayor Mare shouted.
“Let me tell ya something pony mayor! Rath is too busy getting his vengeance to worry about that right now! Rath will fix it la-!”
The tiger was cut off by a laser hitting him in the chest and knocking him over. Gilgamesh came soon afterwards, brandishing his spear. Jason growled before deflecting the blade with one of his claws and retaliating with the other. The two continued this dance back and forth until they both had blades at each other’s throats. Neither of them moved for moment, and then Gilgamesh chuckled.
“So I was right all along. You pass,” he said simply, lowering his weapon.
For a moment there was no sound until Jason growled.
“Omnitrix, Four Arms!” Another flash of green came and went and the human turned alien began to viciously pummel the warrior, who made no attempt to defend himself. Soon he fell over and Jason continued to attack, driving him into the ground.
“Why!?” he screamed. “Why!? Why!?” At that moment the Omnitrix flashed red before powering down and reverting Jason to his human form. Even still he didn’t stop attacking, despite not causing any damage. “Why!? Why!? Why!?”
Soon a golden aura enveloped him and lifted him off the armored warrior.
“Jason, please control yourself,” came a gentle voice.
The human turned to see Celestia, standing only a few feet behind him.
“‘Control myself’!? He killed them! He killed them all!” he shouted, tears streaming down his face.
“No, he did not,” came another regal voice.
He turned his head again to see Princess Luna. And she wasn’t alone. All six of the friends, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and their two babies, were all standing by her, somewhat dirtied but
otherwise unharmed. Jason struggled to process this as he was lowered onto his feet.
“I’m sorry. This was always going to be your harshest lesson, but I may have been too cruel,” Gilgamesh said, his voice no longer cold but was still without its usual zest for life. He didn’t even bother to get up. “But what’s done is done, and I’m afraid I had to know for sure.”
“Just shut up!” he shouted, kicking Gilgamesh’s head as hard as he could before running over to his friends. He dropped to his knees, pulling them all into a hug, sobbing loudly.
“There there, sugarcube. It’s alright. We’re still here,” Applejack softly cooed as she held him back. The others joined in and for a moment all was at peace, aside from Jason’s sobbing. Then Rainbow Dash broke it.
“Just what the hay were you thinking!?” she shouted before flying over the warrior and glaring right at him. “Attacking out of nowhere!? Throwing me through a wall!? Making Jason think we were all dead!? Why the hay would you do any of that!?”
There was a short silence before he turned to face his student, Jason looking at him with teary but still angry eyes.
“Your final lesson was performing under stress. Anyone can fight well when they’re in the right mindset, when they’re prepared for a fight, but when their mind is clouded with the emotions in the heat of the moment they can make careless mistakes. I needed to evoke those emotions in you. Betrayal, anger, sadness, and most importantly, fear. This was a test of your courage, Jason Hughes.”
“You could’ve done that without making me think you killed them!” Jason shouted back, releasing his friends and standing, clenching his fists.
“Yes, that’s true. I could have. But there was something I needed to check. Something I had to be sure of. That’s why I spent all this time trying to convince Celestia and Luna to help me, to make sure no one got hurt or killed. They refused at first, but when I told them why they agreed. Albeit, hesitantly.”
Jason closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath. “I hate you all,” he grumbled, opening his eyes but not bothering to wipe his tears away.
“Please, let us move past all of this tension. We have set up a feast for the whole town,” Celestia said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Food does sound good right ‘bout now,” AJ said blushing when she heard her stomach growl.
“That does sound like a good idea. And I could use a bit of time to freshen up,” Rarity added, fiddling with her mane.
“Just try to keep it under an hour, huh Rarity?”
“Oh hush, you!”
Air Razor walked beside Celestia at the back of the group, giving her a look. “You only threw the feast to take everypony’s mind off the damage to the town didn’t you?”
“I will not confirm or deny that,” Celestia said, summoning up a small metallic ball. “This is a miniature sun, one of Starswirl’s old creations. It’s starting to become unstable and if it is not dealt with it will become a hazard. I leave it to your discretion to dispose of it.”
“Of course,” Slash said, taking on his true form. He took the sphere, swallowing it down whole, throwing up his disguise again. He ignored the looks of shock on some of the surrounding ponies’ faces and licked his lips.
“You could’ve done that later,” Celestia said with a frown.
“You worry too much Princess,” Air Razor said, laughing.
***
About half an hour later, Ponyville was all eating cuisine made by the finest chefs in Canterlot. The aromas and fantastic tastes were enough to make the town forget about the wreckage around them, at least for the moment. Jason, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike were all sitting next to each other at one table. Air Razor sat next to Celestia while Gilgamesh sat next to Luna. Many were eating heartily, or in the case of one pegasus angrily, while others ate slow and deliberately. Gilgamesh himself hadn’t touched a thing.
“Alright,” the warrior suddenly began. “Explanations are in order.”
“Finally!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Now Rainbow Dash, I’m sure Gilgamesh has a good explanation for this. Um, right?” Fluttershy said meekly.
“... You can decide that for yourselves,” he answered grimly. “I believe I mentioned, Jason, that you are not my first student. You’re my second. My first was a gravity manipulator by the name of Kat Shifter. As you could probably guess she had many gravitational powers from levitation, increasing or decreasing gravity, or even shifting her own gravity to ‘fall’ in any direction she wanted. She could even teleport and create black holes. She is extremely powerful, however the enemy she was fighting in her dimension, the Nevi, are resistant to her powers. To combat them, she asked me to train her as a warrior. I agreed and though our meeting was by chance she became not just a student to me but a great friend. To be honest, I still think of her as a younger sister.” He sighed. “However, despite being ultimately good hearted, she had certain... flaws. Flaws which, when combined with her powers, made her a much more dangerous person than she should’ve been. I noticed them, but they seemed small at the time. I thought I could help her, teach her to compensate for these problems while still teaching her how to fight. That... was my first mistake.”
“I recall you told me the two of you had falling out?” Celestia asked, sipping her tea. “Not every student is right for every teacher.”
“If only it was as simple as that. Kat was... damaged. Her life was not without her share of hardships. Hardships that would break many of even the strongest. Before she came to her version of Equestria or even had her powers, her entire family, her parents and her infant brother were killed in a tragic accident while she was just a child, she herself surviving only by chance. Even worse, their deaths were long and painful... and she heard them scream as they died.”
“O-oh my... “ Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane, tears threatening to flow down her muzzle.
“The trauma caused her to fail to develop emotionally. Though she’s quite intelligent, emotionally she never grew past that point. She grew some considerable anger issues, though she did have a friend to help her through them. Then, after about a decade, she was sent to her version of Equestria by the Merchant, like all of us Displaced. We were all whisked away by a certain object, Jason’s being his Omnitrix, mine being my naginata. Kat’s was a plush ethereal cat named Dusty. Dusty helped her control and learn her gravity shifting powers while she hid from the world and was her first friend after being whisked away from home. In her Equis’ timeline Equestria was at war with the Dragons at the time. She defended them and was brought to those versions of Celestia and Luna. They enlisted her aid and she grew to be not only Equestria’s greatest warrior but also the strongest being on the planet. Over a few centuries the Princesses and Kat grew close, despite many of the populace still fearing her. She also managed to befriend a young shy filly living in Trottingham named Flitterbee, and developed a motherly affection for her. And this is where things might get confusing with alternate timelines because in that reality Flitterbee is your ancestor, Fluttershy.”
“Really?” the yellow mare asked, peeking out from behind her mane. “I um... don’t know if thats true here... “
“I’m sure Cloudsdale has your family records somewhere,” Twilight pipped in, having been listening to everything being said rather intently.
“Anyway, at this time Equestria was trying to have negotiations with the changelings, who unfortunately took it as an opportunity to try and bleed the city dry. I should mention that the changelings of that dimension are somewhat different from the ones here and in my reality. There they don’t simply absorb love through magic, they physically drain it out others as if they were drinking blood. They were the inspiration for vamponies in that realm. Needless to say that when they threatened to kill the filly she saw as a daughter, she reacted... violently. Afterwards the Princesses called her back to Canterlot to keep a closer eye on her.”
“My ancestors were like that,” Air Razor said, having been quiet up till now. “Thats why there aren’t any more elephants. After that, the hives came together and started selective breeding for several generations until we became as we are now.”
“Well anyway, while she was at Canterlot several gravity related disturbances began happening around Equestria. The Princesses didn’t think that Kat was responsible, but they had their doubts about Dusty. You see, Dusty was pretty much Kat’s familiar, and only she could hear his voice. In addition, it was physically impossible for them to keep him from her. Over a decade they seemed to have gotten the idea that Dusty was somehow responsible for the disturbances, perhaps even subtly manipulating and influencing Kat the whole time. They also noticed that when he was too far from her Kat lost her powers. They decided to get rid of what they saw as a little imp whispering evil thoughts into the ear of the human they had grown to see as family, by ending the feline’s life. They succeeded, but two significant problems reared their ugly heads immediately afterwards. One was that the Princesses, the two beings Kat had begun to see as family, had just killed Kat’s oldest friend. She didn’t take it well. In addition, Dusty wasn’t just a power focus for Kat, he was also a power limiter, and in her anger and rage, not only at the death of her closest companion but also the act being committed by those she had grown to love, Kat’s powers surged and she nearly tore the entire planet apart. The Princesses saw no other choice than to seal her in stone with the Elements of Harmony.”
“That is quite the tale,” Rarity said, looking at him, a sad look in her eyes.
“If only that was all of it. As you can guess she eventually managed to break out and sought vengeance against the sisters, only to discover she was much weaker than she used to be. This, as you might’ve guessed, would be around this time in their universe. The Princesses didn’t want to have to fight her, and Kat, realizing she couldn’t win, left to regain her strength. Thankfully she did not seek to end the lives of any of the other ponies, but of course killing the Princesses would have disastrous consequences. Thankfully, she was visited by another Displaced, Auric Fulcrum, the one who wrote that formula I gave you. Though he didn’t manage to convince her to give up her revenge he did at least get her to give up the idea of killing them. In addition, Dusty was beginning to reform himself and would soon be there not only to control her powers but as someone who could calm her down. She even managed, with considerable effort, to make friends with that universe’s versions of the Elements of Harmony, especially her ‘granddaughter’ Fluttershy. However, the Nevi began popping up, and although she did manage to successfully defend the lives of ponies, found herself woefully outclassed. In addition, remembering how the Princesses didn’t want to fight her, she decided to enlist the help of some young dragons in her plans. I should mention that in that universe the dragons see her as a goddess of battle and literally worship her, so it wasn't that hard. Anyway, she had these dragons fight the Nevi that attacked the cities alongside her, but also had them destroy the cities at the same time, though without actually harming any lives. Her idea was to make herself look like such a threat that the Princesses would have to fight her, and she could finally get the revenge she wanted. However, she still needed combat training and, by chance, happened to find her way to my dimension. And, of course, I didn’t find out any of this until after I had spent months training her.”
“So you had to make sure I wasn’t the same correct?” Jacob spoke up, looking Gilgamesh in the eyes. “I think I can understand that.”
“Yes. Like I said, she’s a very good hearted girl. Hell, in the declaration she sent with her totem she called herself ‘defender of the innocent.’ However, like I said, she’s still emotionally a child, a child who was throwing a tantrum. But instead of fists or objects she had the power to crush entire cities to pancakes with her hissy fits. Nothing is more dangerous than an angry child with the power of a god. I needed to make sure that not only would you defend others with your life but not be so quick to take the lives of others.”
“I can see that being a problem,” Jason said nodding his head. “I’m glad I didn’t disappoint you,” he said, taking a sip of his drink.
Gilgamesh let out a small chuckle, one of the only indications of happiness he had shown during the whole speech. “No you didn’t. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. When I realized Kat’s plans for revenge I sent her away. That was my second mistake. I taught her how to fight, I gave her power, but I didn’t give her control. I taught her some meditative techniques but I didn’t teach her how to remain calm under pressure. I thought since she didn’t want to kill Celestia or Luna, and since she actually feared losing control, that she would be too afraid to fight them for fear of what she might do. I was wrong.” The warrior took a deep breath before shakily exhaling, trying to keep himself from crying. “She promised she wouldn’t abuse what I taught her. Honestly, I think she meant it when she said that, but things just got out of hand. Right now, in that dimension, the Princesses are badly beaten and weakened. Celestia’s horn has been smashed to bits. Even though she feels absolutely horrible about it, it doesn’t change the fact the damage is done. She has realized her folly, and is trying to make up for it. Hell, the only reason I even know anything that happened after she left is because she did manage to keep a different promise to me, that she would only ever call for my help if she needed me to help save the Princesses. Unfortunately, her worst sin is one that can’t be fixed, and one that she unfortunately has very little regret for.”
“What!? What could possibly be worse than causing that kind of damage to the Princesses!?” Twilight practically screeched.
“... Twilight, in Kat’s version of Equis, changelings don’t exist anymore.”
It took Twilight a moment to process what he meant, her eyes widening in realization afterwards. “You don’t mean-?”
“Chrysalis and her entire hive are dead. Kat laid waste to them without mercy.”
The entire table was silent for what seemed to be an unbearably heavy few seconds.
“That’s not possible,” Twilight began. “If even she did manage to kill Queen Chrysalis and her entire hive, there are others. The changelings should still-”
“No Twilight, they don’t because there weren’t any other hives. Kat made sure of that right after the changeling attack on Trottingham. In her rage she wiped out all the hives, all the queens, except for one young changeling queen. She warned Chrysalis that if she ever tried to attack the ponies again she would have no mercy for them. Chrysalis didn’t listen and, during the Canterlot Wedding Invasion, Kat made good on her promise.”
Twilight could only stare in shock, as could the rest. Soon tears began to well up in her eyes. “How could she? Nopony- no creature deserves that. Not even Chrysalis. What reason could she possibly have to justify that kind of action?”
“For the worst reason of all, Twilight. A rage born out of wanting to protect those she cared for. In other words, a reason that for all intents and purposes should be a righteous one.”
“But it wasn’t,” Slash said, having dropped his disguise. “Genocide is not righteous, its a monstrous act that deprives the world of a unique form of life. That’s why my kind changed, so we wouldn’t drive anything else extinct just to feed ourselves.”
“I agree with your sentiment. Which is why in our last meeting I made Kat promise me that after the battle with the Nevi was done she’d travel to no less than ten other versions of Equis and help make peace between the ponies and the changelings. She didn’t want to, I think a part of her still thinks her actions were justified, but I was firm and she eventually relented. I plan on making sure she follows through with that.” Gilgamesh shakily sighed again. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to see if you could help be a bridge between the two species in this world, Jason. Because with Kat being my student the blood of all those beings is on my hands too. I made the mistake of giving her power without knowing her true goals. I made the mistake of sending her away before I had taught her to reign in her rage. I am just as responsible for their deaths as she is. And as for the other reason, it’s because, thankfully, I’ve seen it done before. Auric Fulcrum managed to do it in his version of Equestria.” Gilgamesh let out a small chuckle. “I told you he was one of the best of us.”
For a moment everyone was silent. Then Jason broke it.
“Wait a minute, are you seriously asking me to try and hook up with-?”
“What? No! No I-!” Gilgamesh cut himself off before laughing heartily, the first time he had done so in hours. “No, no, no, I don’t expect you to go that far! I mean unless you want to. I mean, hell you’re making progress already! Applejack can sit next to her without trying to kill her!”
“Just barely,” the farm mare muttered darkly.
The warrior laughed again and his mirth began to ease the heaviness of the atmosphere.
“Man, I needed that.”
“So, what would you have done, if you had been wrong about me? I mean I don’t want to brag but, one of my aliens is basically a god who can remake reality at a whim,” Jason said, shuddering at the thought of it.
“I know about Alien X, and I also know the problems that come with it. Also, in case you’re wondering whether or not I could stop you, I feel I should mention that in my strongest form I’m powerful enough to defeat both Celestia and Luna. Simultaneously. As for what would I have done... to be honest, I didn’t really think about it. I didn’t want to think about it. I just... hoped.”
“Well, thanks for believing in me,” Jason said, grinning a bit.
“Jason, you have a form that can rewrite reality?” Celestia asked, giving him an even look.
“Umm.... yes...” he said, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. “Alien X can bend reality to its whim, but only if its personalities agree,” he hurriedly explained.
“Basically, it’s got two consciousnesses living inside it, one of aggression and one of compassion.” Gilgamesh explained. “Unless they can agree on what to do they can’t even move. If Jason picks it, he’ll basically become the tiebreaker. Although, that means that they also get to decide whether or not he even changes back. So basically the ultimate power comes with the ultimate caveat.”
“Thats even if my version works like that,” Jason said, leaning back in his chair. “Ben’s Alien X didn’t.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it was one of his personalities, it took control whenever he became Alien X.”
“Huh. Oh, I never did tell you about the other Displaced I knew, did I? Um, let’s see, we’ve already got Auric and Kat. Auric vouched for a so-called ‘Demon Lord’ named Nocturne, who supposedly helps others for a price. And you need a mirror to summon him. Never met him, and I know the name sounds bad, but if Auric says it’s ok, I trust him. There’s a Ghost Rider going around, apparently, I don’t know anything about him. I’ve also been told there’s a steampunk inventor and Solarie from Dark Souls, I have no idea about either of them. Next is Typhon, Heir of Breath, who actually has the form of John Egbert from Homestuck, if you ever read that. Cool guy, definitely the compassionate type, if a bit mischevious. Then there’s Xante, the one mentioned in the folder, a lich mage who’s extremely powerful. Really goofy, but pretty cool. Then we have Nemesis, from Resident Evil. I know that sounds bad, but believe me he’s one of the good guys, close friend of mine. As for the ones to worry about there’s the ‘Triad of Madness’, as Auric called them. We’ve got Alice from Wonderland, Jack of Blades from Fable, and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill. Never met the first two, as for Pyramid Head, well... everything I heard about him was bad but when I met him he was actually pretty nice. Don’t know what’s going on there, but just be careful if you meet him. And that’s all I got.”
The warrior rose from his seat. “And with that, I’m off.”
“Hey wait!” Jason said, getting up, moving over to him. “I want to return the favor for you helping me,” he smiled at him. “You up for some gene splicing?”
“‘Gene splicing’? How would that work?”
“I just tell the Omnitrix to splice your DNA with a strand from the watch.”
“So, you mean, I’ll actually get some of your aliens’ powers? That’s awesome! Wait, will this change my appearance? I don’t want to walking around with four eyestalks on my face or anything.”
“It did for the Highbreed but they had extensive genetic damage.” Jason said with a shrug.”
“True. So then, let’s see... I don’t want to mess around with radiation or anything like that, so how about... Swampfire, Big Chill, Blitzwolfer and Diamondhead. That’ll give me plant, ice, and rock powers, intangibility, sonics, and it’ll make it so I don’t have shoot lasers from my eyes to do fire. Also, do you have anything that can manipulate time? I don’t need much but the ability to stop it, even if just for a few seconds, would be fantastic.”
“Thats a lot dude.” Jason said, rubbing his neck. “I was thinking Osmosian.”
“Who?”
“Osmosian’s are Kevin’s species.”
“Ah. Are we talking the ‘absorbing matter’ ability or the ‘temporarily absorbing all forms of energy’ ability? Or do I get both?”
“Pretty sure it’s both. Just don’t absorb too much power, it causes insanity.”
“Meh, I’m kinda already insane. Ok then, let ‘er rip!”
“Omnitrix, splice target human with Osmosian DNA,”Jason commanded, pointing it at Gilgamesh.
“Commencing genetic splicing.” the device chirped, sending a blast of green energy at Gilgamesh. “Genetic splicing complete.”
“I think I felt a tingle. Hm...” Gilgamesh’s touched the wooden table and the skin underneath began to assume the same color. “Well, looks like it works,” he said before dispersing the ability. “First gravity powers, now absorption techniques. I am officially becoming Mega Man.”
“Oh one last thing, how do I contact you? You got one of those token things?” Jason asked, looking him over, stroking his beard.
“Right! Um, just a sec, I think you’ll like this. Give me your hands.”
Jason held out his arms and the warrior grasped them. He closed his eyes and focused, a bright light appearing around Jason’s arms. After it dissipated Jason had two gauntlets on his hands, one going up to his elbow, the other stopping at the Omnitrix.
“Behold the Genji Gloves. Strong, durable, resistant to physical attacks and magic attacks, and makes you immune to Toad spells and Paralyze spells. And yes, they are also my token. Enjoy the fashionable asymmetry.”
“Pretty snazzy,” Jason said turning his hands this way and that, flexing his fingers.
“Must you really leave Sir Gilgamesh?” Luna asked, pouting slightly. “I shall miss you greatly.”
“Unfortunately, I must,” the warrior answered. “My own Equestria is facing threats from beyond its own reality, threats that only I am capable of defeating. In addition, time flows at different speeds between realities. Once I spent not even a full day in one only to find a week had passed in mine. That is why I tried to rush young Jason’s training. I will return someday though.” He then turned to his student. “And when I do I expect to hear about the deeds of the brave and benevolent Jason Hughes, shapeshifter extraordinaire.”
“You’re damn right you will, and next time, I’m going to kick your ass, bet on it,” Jason said with a smirk.
Gilgamesh chuckled. “I look forward to the day when I can truly say ‘I have nothing left to teach you.’” He then turned to Slash. “Make sure the kid keeps up his training.”
“It will be my pleasure.”
He then turned to the Princesses. “Maybe now would be a good time to start something, seeing as how he’s already showing himself off,” motioning both to the changeling king and the crowd looking on in fear and curiosity at him. The three royals looked to each other and nodded.
“I see your point,” Celestia replied.
“AJ,” he continued, turning to the farm mare. “Give her a chance, huh?”
“Ah’m already givin’ her a chance,” she muttered.
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is there something I should know about?”
“Uh well, um...” the orange mare began to stutter. She looked to Jason for help, and as he had already known about her nigh complete inability to lie.
“Queen Chrysalis has been paying frequent visits to our training sessions. Jason scanned my DNA and has the ability to become a changeling king. Queens are always on the lookout for suitable mates. I’m sure you see where this is going,” Slash cut in, a mischievous smile on his face.
“You're such an ass Slash you know that?” Jason asked, scowling at him. “I’m so going to get you back for this!”
“Thou meanst to say that say that that infernal queen is here near Ponyville!?” Luna angrily asked, slipping back into her old dialect.
“Don’t worry, she’s been on her best behavior. After all, she needs to get in the good graces of her ‘future in-laws’ if she wants a chance at getting her preferred mate,” Gilgamesh added, his smile noticeable even with his faceguard. “Just think of how easy applebuck season would go with a whole hive to to help!”
Applejack actually seemed to consider the possibility for a moment before shaking it from her head.
“I seriously hate you all, you know that?”Jason asked crossing his arms. “Stop trying to hook me up with her!”
“This certainly does open up some possibilities.” Celestia said, looking deep in thought. “I’ll have to think more on this.”
“Well kid, it looks like you’re going to be an ambassador after all.”
“Will you just go!?” Jason shouted back in frustration.
Gilgamesh chuckled before unclipping his naginata and cutting a hole open in the air. “Until next time, Jason Hughes. May the winds of Freedom carry your wings.” With that he stepped inside and was gone.
“Huh. Maybe I should think of a catchphrase?” Jason muttered.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Twilight shouted.
“What?”
“He didn’t help clean anything up!”
The group looked around town, still seeing the debris everywhere.
“Oh, he’s quite the sneaky one, isn’t he?” Luna quipped, a slight tone of amusement in her voice.
Jason just grabbed a bottle of hard liquor, draining it down, blissfully ignoring the conversations around him.
***
It was hours later when Jason and Applejack returned to the barn. He had promised to help clean everything up in the morning, but for now he needed rest. He opened the door to his room and was surprised to find a sack resting on his bed. Not a moment later he was hit by a mouth watering aroma, one that was familiar from just a couple nights ago. He opened it and found exactly what he hoped, pounds of cragadile jerky, and a note. Curious, he opened it and read the message inside.
Some recompense for having to deal with me. For a great hero and an even greater man.
Best regards,
Big G.
P.S. Don’t eat it all in one sitting. Also, fish is good for you.
“Looks like you're not that big of a dick after all.” Jason mumbled to himself, shoving some jerky into his mouth. He put the sack under his bed before crawling under the covers, a goofy grin on his face.